I worked with India’s #1 Job Site for 7 years. Here are my 7 Biggest learnings:

“You don’t choose sales as a profession but somehow land into sales”.

24th Feb 2014 was my first day in the world of Sales. I got an opportunity to work with India’s #1 job search portal. For someone who had designed apps for iPhone/iPad the decision to switch to Sales wasn’t an easy one. But nothing comes easy in life. What started as a hesitant decision transformed into a journey of 7+years. And today, I wish to share my Top 7 learnings from this profession with you. So, whether you are new to sales or someone who’s been selling for years, I am sure this will add value to your work:

1. Failure is not a sign of weakness:

I still remember my first 90 days at work. The entire world of selling was new for me. Concepts like cold-calling, rigorous follow-ups could be intimidating for people. Amidst all this, I missed my Q1 target. And it took a toll on me. I felt dejected and ashamed that how can I fail while working for India’s #1 brand. I had an impression that maybe failing is a sign of weakness. I wanted to quit. Maybe sales was not my cup of tea.

The next day on realizing what I was going through, my boss walks up to me and says, “Harmit, it’s ok. You haven’t failed. You did a fairly good job. But next time I would surely tell you that you failed if you don’t learn from your past mistakes.” That conversation with my Boss gave me confidence. I realized that failing is not a sign of weakness. It’s an indication that you showed up, you tried but couldn’t get the desired results. Whether you are in a new job or a new role, do not run away from accepting that you failed. Sales is definitely not easy. In sales, you will surely experience setbacks. But this should not discourage you from quitting this field or switching to a new company. Switching jobs is not the answer. That’s for the losers. Instead, learn from your failures. Hold yourself accountable. Fail fast but learn faster.

2. There is a science behind Selling:

I am not a born salesperson. No one in either my family or my social circle is into this profession called “sales”. That’s why during the beginning I always doubted my success as a salesperson. I never had a natural flair of selling. However, after missing my First quarter, I was able to over-achieve and over-deliver in the next 7 consecutive quarters. In addition, I had the honor of receiving multiple national awards for my performance as a Sales Manager. All this became feasible, once I understood the importance of “Sales Processes”. When you repeat a certain activity multiple times over a continued period which delivers results, then it becomes a process. Early on what started as a habit eventually became a process for me. For example, every Monday morning (before the start of office) I used to take out 45mins of time to extract online leads for my recruitment business. If I ever had a telephonic conversation with my client, it was immediately followed up with a proposal within the next 15 mins. If I have to cold-call, then I always made it a point to do between 10 am-2 pm. Once these habits started delivering results, I repeated them over and over until they became standardized processes of my sales cycle. Success in Sales takes place once you identify your unique process, execute it and repeat it over and over. Average salespeople follow only those processes which have been laid out by their companies. However, if you really want to flourish and conquer the world of sales, you must find and create your own playbook of result-driven processes (it must be fair and not in violation of your compliance terms).

3. You are not defined by your Job Title:

My first designation in the organization was that of “Sr. Executive- Corporate Sales”. My role was clearly laid out Cold call, Prospect, Negotiate, Close deals. And repeat. And that’s what I did one full year. However, at the time of appraisals, I was one step below the best-performing salesperson in my region. Being curious and wanting to grow in my role, I reached out to him and asked what really differentiates him from other Salespeople in the branch. That’s when he shared his few cents of wisdom with me. He replied,” Harmit, your success in Sales is not defined by your Job Title or your Job description but with what extra you bring to the table”. You must work, act and talk like a leader even though you are still an individual contributor. Your role is not limited to just achieving your numbers but at the same time, you must strive hard to help your branch achieve its quarterly/annual numbers. There’s no fun in winning solo when your team is losing.

At the same time, if you wish to be the Sales Director or CEO of your organization, you must start acting like one from today itself. You should carry yourself like a CEO. You must act, read or converse like a CEO. At the end of each year, your company rates your performance as per their KPIs. However, if you wish to be a top performer in Sales, set your own KPIs and then rate yourself. Be answerable to yourself. Ask yourself what CEO qualities you gained in the last one year. Expand and conquer. Go Big or go home. Don’t limit your success by falling into the trap of your Job Title.

4. Don’t just try to sell. Ask, “Why people Buy”?

Whether you are selling recruitment solutions or real estate property, spend time to answer this question,” Why people Buy”. In today’s world, our customers are really smart and tech-savvy. They are already equipped with lots of information about our products and services. Thus, those old tricks of pushing a product won’t work. We must understand that we are dealing with an intelligent customer. Thus, we must uncover the real motive behind the purchase before the sale is made. Is my product fulfilling a need or a desire? Is there a desire for gain or fear of loss that motivated the client to make a purchase? Which business goal of my client will be addressed if he buys my recruitment solutions? Or is he making a purchase because his friend bought my resume database last week? An Average salesperson will never bother to think about these perspectives. For him/her, they just want to close a deal. They are in a hurry. That’s why such salespeople never make it to the top 5%. On the other hand, a top-performing salesperson will ask the right questions to figure out the real motive behind a purchase. Also, once we are aware of the exact need that is getting addressed for the customer, then we can even fine-tune our sales pitch and conclude the sale in a logical manner.

5. Prepare. Prepare. Prepare:

Preparation is the word that separates elite salespersons from the amateurs. A soldier never enters a battle without his arms and ammunition. Likewise, if a salesperson enters a meeting without researching about the company or client then his chances to succeed are diminished exponentially. During the early days of my selling career, I never took time out to research about my client. I used to directly enter the meeting, exchange greetings, and start my pitch. And that resulted in a poor conversation rate.

It was early Monday morning and I traveled to our Company’s Headquarters for a quarterly review with our VP of Corporate Sales. He’s someone who has a habit of pushing everyone to achieve their numbers but at the same time, he gives us food for thought. He encourages everyone to think Big. It’s in one of those meetings that he shared with us the importance of entering a meeting with full preparation. I learned from him that for success in Sales, you must always research thoroughly about a company, its directors, the latest news in the market, any upcoming round of funding. Research well. Read thoroughly. You get only one chance to make the right impression.

From that day onwards, I always made it a habit to enter a meeting after doing rigorous research by making use of tools like LinkedIn, Google news, Annual Reports of the company, and so on. We can always bring up some facts, figures during our conversation with the client. It gives an impression that I am serious about the meeting and the client’s business. We are then looked up as an industry expert and not just some average salesperson. There is a high chance that the client will be impressed and he starts liking you because of the insights you bring to the table.

“Customers don’t buy from strangers. They buy from people they like and they know”

Also, in the ever-changing world, Salespeople are no longer “providers of Information” but instead “providers of insights”. And to gather insights you will have to start researching.

6. Don’t run away from Data:

I am sure if you are in sales, you know how difficult it can be sometimes to gather data or make sense of numbers in that excel. Trust me, I am also in the same boat. I also used to run away from keeping a regular tab of numbers or updating the same in excel. That’s what a lot of salespeople go through. But not the leaders.

Leaders love number crunching. They are good with excel and thus keep regular track of their numbers. Average salespeople run away from data analysis because they still haven’t mastered the tools. Make use of tools like Tableau or Microsoft excel. Stop giving excuses and pull yourself up. You cannot be a sales leader if you run away from data. If you really want to excel in the world of sales, fall in love with data analysis. Enroll yourself in courses from Udemy and become comfortable with Microsoft Excel.

7. The Art of Copywriting:

Let me remind you, cold calling is still not dead. We may have all the fancy tools at our disposal but we still need to cold call, shoot emails, and book appointments. When you are starting out as a Business or Sales Development Representative, a major part of your profile revolves around finding out qualified leads. And we do so by sending emails to prospective clients. And when you send mails you better be good at every word you write in that mail. Exactly. No one will open your email unless it has a catchy subject line. Also, no one will respond to your email if it’s not personalized. In the future, companies will pay a lot of emphasis to hire sales candidates who have strong writing skills. And that’s why salespeople need to take inspiration from the Advertising industry. Because that’s where the word “Copywriting” finds its genesis. A copywriter uses minimum words to have maximum impact with the sole objective of persuading the end-user to take action. As a salesperson, when we send an email, the action we want our customer to take is- giving us a time for an appointment. Salespeople need to quickly work on this skill if they want to stay ahead in the game. And if you are asking, “How to succeed at copywriting?”. It’s simple. Spend time on Google, enroll in a course and learn the art.

P.S: My journey would have been incomplete without the love and support of my incredible managers and mentors. So, whatever you sell in Life, always be grateful to your mentors.

Keeping Selling and Keep Hustling.!!